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Hundreds of homes on the way in East Mesa development

Metro Verde: Area covers 2,185 acres, including Red Hawk Golf Course

By Brook Stockberger

bstockberger@lcsun-news.com @Bstockberger on Twitter

Posted:
12/22/2013 03:22:50 PM MST

Robin Zielinski Sun-News
Standing from left to right, Dean Rigg, Royal Jones and John Moscato, land developers of Metro Verde, look over blueprints Friday at the development. Hundreds of new houses are expected to be built in the area.

LAS CRUCES >> Just five years or so ago, about 2,000 acres of land sat empty north of Highway 70 and east of Sonoma Ranch Boulevard. There was a golf course that was unfinished and a bunch of desert.

Sierra Norte Land Holdings started to buy up some of that land. Fast forward to now, and Red Hawk Golf Course is in operation, 260 home lots are complete, houses are being built, and some already have residents.

That is just the tip of the iceberg for the development known as Metro Verde, which covers 2,185 acres, including the golf course.

"(While) 260 lots sounds like a lot, it's just 2 1/2 percent of the total development," John Moscato, with Sierra Norte, said.

Robin Zielinski Sun-News
Work continues on Engler Road on Friday. The road will eventually extend from Del Rey Boulevard east to the Metro Verde development and Red Hawk Golf Course.

With a 20-year or more planned build-out, Metro Verde is expected to one day include many more homes as well as apartments, condos, commercial buildings, parks, tennis courts and more.

The other two partners in Sierra Norte are businessmen Royal Jones -- who also owns Mesilla Valley Transportation -- and Dean Rigg. The group formed the company in 2009 during the housing market downturn. There are actually two companies: Sierra Norte Land Holdings owns the land during the basic planning phase, and the land development is done through Sierra Norte Land Development

"When is the best time to buy? When things are low," Jones said.

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"When we took over this land, this golf course wasn't operable, there wasn't any of these buildings, there wasn't a way to get here and there was no water," Jones said. "Now we have all of those things."

He pointed out that expansion is going on all around the area.

"There are two schools that weren't here in 2009," he said of Monte Vista Elementary School and Mesa Middle School. "Just south of us there's a new Walmart and Walgreens that weren't there. Walmart's a magnet for everything."

There are multiple phases to Monte Verde that have already started or will soon start development and a road is being constructed to connect Sonoma Ranch Boulevard to the development and the golf course.

PUD

The entire Monte Verde development is to be converted to a planned unit development, or PUD. Moscato said that 1,650 acres have been converted into PUD zoning and the rest is expected to be converted in 2014. He said flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to PUD.

"It gives us the ability to have more density than is typically allowed in certain zoning districts. It allows us to mix uses (for the land)," Moscato said.

For instance, more structures such as apartments and commercial buildings and neighborhood businesses could be built.

"It gives us flexibility to adapt as times and markets change," Moscato said. "In a 20-year project, flexibility is important."

Two phases

Metro Verde South Phase I is the furthest along in development.

"Most of the lots have either been sold or are under agreement for builders to purchase," Moscato said. "The first residents moved in about a year ago."

The area has two parks, one with a basketball court and tennis court as well as picnic tables, and an outdoor table tennis area. The second park is a toddler park with what Moscato called "creative play systems."

While Phase I is basically single-family home development, Metro Verde South Phase II will have a mix.

Metro Park Village

Recently the company received final approval for Metro Park Village, a planned development on Peachtree Hills Road, across the road from Monte Vista Elementary School.

"It'll have about 300 single-family lots, several larger parcels for multi-family and some neighborhood commercial (lots)," Moscato said. "It will also include a large, internal park with recreational equipment that we plan build and dedicate to the city."

Engler Road

To get to Metro Verde South Phase I as well as the golf course, people must take Thurmond Road off of Sonoma Ranch Boulevard. Soon, a new road will be in place and Thurmond will be closed.

Engler Road is under construction to connect Sonoma to Metro Verde and the golf course.

"It'll be a nice four-lane road with sidewalks and curbs," Jones said.

Moscato said that work on the road began about a month and a half ago and could be competed by March.

"(It) will be landscaped and have a 10-foot wide, multiuse path," he said. "That'll be a major turning point."

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